Jeff Lowe - Hitchcock Café
After working many years as a session musician, London – born singer, songwriter and guitarist Jeff Lowe releases his first solo album 'Hitchcock Café'. The songs on the album draw upon his considerable experience of working with diverse artists such as Kiki Dee, Trevor Horn and The Cutting Crew.
The album has a mix of styles and shows the Lowe's songwriting and arranging versatility; strings, acoustic guitar, harmonies and a hint of psychedelia are all there. The first three tracks sum up the album succinctly. The catchy-chorused 'Hitchcock Café' opens the album in a promising manner. The arrangements often sounding like 'Squeeze', there are some good moments; especially the clear acoustic guitar. The confusion begins with what comes next. 'Travesty Of Justice' has quite a lot of strings and is a quieter affair and this is followed by the funkier 'Public Information Song', which after a promising introduction, fizzles out due to the acoustic guitar. I feel that the musicians being plugged in would have delivered a much more appropriate sound.
The lyrics to the songs are very often well crafted, the choruses catchy and the musicianship good. There is something lacking and I think it might be the vocals. This is not to say that Jeff Lowe can't sing. The tracks on the album are varied but the vocals seem to drag the more up tempo songs down a notch or two and the missed opportunities where a heavier rhythm section would bring more dynamism are very frequent. There is no doubting Lowe's abilities; he is an accomplished musician and can write songs that have potential. I wanted to like this album but reluctantly, in the end, feel as though the singing may be better performed by someone else and thus allowing Lowe to concentrate on the arrangements. Another problem for me is that I found the tracks varied a little too much. Though this did help the listener understand the versatility of Lowe's skills, it often felt uncomfortable.
There are some good moments. 'Bypass The Bypass' with its well crafted harmonies and 'Suicide River', in my opinion, the strongest track on the album. There's a lot to take in, possibly too much. I think Lowe's next album should see him decide on a style and stick to it throughout. With the possible addition of some guest vocalists, he should be able to deliver a more rounded album.